It wasn’t hard for Jane Caldwell to think the worst, looking at her partner Graham Jones as he lay face-down on a remote walking track.”I’ve seen a lot of dead people. He looked like a dead person,” Caldwell said.At first, she…

New Zealand’s Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has issued a grave warning to tourism operators, saying it could be another “three to four years at least” before visitor numbers return to pre-coronavirus levels. Nash made the stark comments…

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A pedestrian is dead after being hit by a bus in central Wellington, bringing to five the Easter road toll. All of the deaths have so far occurred in the North Island.Police were called to Taranaki St in central Wellington just…

A child has died in Dunedin Hospital after a boat capsized at the Taieri Mouth bar on Saturday.A police spokeswoman said they were called to Taieri Mouth about 1.10pm, after a small boat with an outboard motor flipped while attempting…

Britain's medicines regulator is urging people to continue taking the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, despite revealing that seven people in the UK have died from rare blood clots after getting the jab.

The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, said it wasn't clear if the shots are causing the clots, and that its "rigorous review into the UK reports of rare and specific types of blood clots is ongoing."

Though the agency said late Friday that seven people had died as a result of developing blood clots, it didn't disclose any information about their ages or health conditions.

READ MORE: Blood clots likely 'nothing to do with' AstraZeneca vaccine

In total, MHRA said had identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events out of 18.1 million AstraZeneca doses administered up to and including March 24. The risk associated with this type of blood clot is "very small," it added.

"The benefits of COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca in preventing COVID-19 infection and its complications continue to outweigh any risks and the public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so," said Dr. June Raine, the agency's chief executive.

READ MORE: Explainer: What we know about AstraZeneca blood clot reports

In Australia, The Therapeutic Goods Administration is investigating what's thought to be the first Australian vaccine recipient affected by the "extremely rare" blood clotting disorder detected in a few dozen people who received the Anglo-Swedish drug maker's jab.

However, top health officials were told yesterday that advice on use of the AstraZeneca jab will not change and the national vaccination rollout will continue, as planned.

During a press conference Australia's acting Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd said the benefits of the jab out-weigh possible risks.

Concerns over the AstraZeneca vaccine has already prompted some countries including Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands to restrict its use to older people.

The UK, which has rolled out coronavirus vaccines faster than other European nations, is particularly reliant on the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed by scientists at the University of Oxford.

MHRA's view about the relative benefits of the vaccine is shared by the European Medicines Agency. It has said a causal link between unusual blood clots in people who have had the vaccine is "not proven, but is possible," and that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks of side effects. The World Health Organisation has also urged countries to continue using the jab.

RELATED: Britain says variant booster ready by September

Adam Finn, a professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol, said the "extreme rarity" of the blood-clotting events in the context of the millions of jabs administered in the UK makes the decision facing people very straightforward.

"Receiving the vaccine is by far the safest choice in terms of minimising individual risk of serious illness or death," he said.

A more detailed look at the MHRA's findings show that of the 30 cases, 22 related to cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, which stops blood draining from the brain properly, and eight were connected with other thrombosis events with low platelets.

It said there were no reports of any blood-clotting events around the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which has also been widely rolled out in the UK.

South Korea's foreign minister met his Chinese counterpart in the southern Chinese city of Xiamen on Saturday, as Seoul seeks to improve ties with its top trading partner even as US-China relations remain strained.

Ahead of the trip, South Korea's newly appointed Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong told reporters that he expected North Korea to be a key issue in talks with Wang Yi.

In his opening statement, Wang said China and South Korea will "seek a process for a political resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue," as part of pursuing policies for permanent peace amid North Korea's nuclear standoff with Washington.

Chung said both China and South Korea share the goal of "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean Peninsula.

He said South Korea asks China "to continue serving a constructive role in the stable management of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and achieving substantial progress in the Korean Peninsula peace process."

RELATED: BBC correspondent leaves China amid safety concerns

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement the top diplomats also agreed to push for a visit to South Korea by Chinese President Xi Jinping once the coronavirus pandemic is stabilised, and acknowledged the need for three-way cooperation with Japan while pushing for a trilateral summit between the countries.

South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper speculated that China's decision to host Chung in Xiamen, a city close to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, was intended to send a message to Washington against attempting to shore up a U.S.-led "anti-China coalition."

The Biden administration has stepped up efforts to bolster cooperation with allies South Korea and Japan, focused on China's growing influence and the North Korean nuclear threat.

On Friday, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan hosted his South Korean and Japanese counterparts at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland for discussions on the countries' three-way partnership and Washington's policies on North Korea.

The United States and China are at odds over a range of issues from trade to human rights in Tibet, Hong Kong and China's western Xinjiang region, as well as over Taiwan, China's assertiveness in the South China Sea and the coronavirus pandemic. China has also been accused of lax enforcement of UN sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear program.

The worsening relations between Washington and Beijing have raised concerns in Seoul that it would become squeezed between its main security ally and biggest trade partner.

Earlier this week, Wang also met his counterparts from four Southeast Asian countries — Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

A man has died and two others were injured after a car rolled near Lorne in Victoria this afternoon.

Victorian Police said as the vehicle travelled along Rife Butts Road in Whoorel, it left the road and overturned.

The car came to rest on its roof shortly before 2.30pm.

READ MORE: Victorian MP Lisa Neville to undergo surgery

The man behind the wheel died at the scene.

The two passengers, a woman and a boy, were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

A man has died in an altercation with another man and a woman at a home on Queensland's Fraser Coast.

Police said a 58-year-old man suffered a "severe wound" during a disturbance with the pair at his home on Pacific Haven Drive in Pacific Haven just after midday today.

He died at the scene.

A 42-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, who had visited the home before the altercation, were also injured.

They have been taken to hospital.

Police believe all three people are known to each other.

Police have arrested six people and impounded 10 motorcycles following a mass ride event in Auckland today.Witnesses have said there were around 60 motorcycles pulling wheelies and burnouts along East Auckland’s Tamaki Drive. Footage…